Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
222. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to set out, in tabular form, the total amount of Exchequer funding provided by Ireland to programmes relating to Gaza and the West Bank from January 2023 to date, broken down by year, funding instrument, recipient organisation, and administering body, and to state the projected allocations to each recipient body to the end of 2026. [3950/26]
View answer227. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade how her Department assesses value for money in respect of Irish humanitarian funding provided to Gaza and the West Bank, including administrative overheads charged by intermediary organisations, and whether comparative analysis has been undertaken against alternative delivery mechanisms. [3955/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 227 together.
The Government has provided €102 million in humanitarian and development assistance for the people of Palestine since 2023. Through the international development programme, Irish Aid, we partner with trusted multilateral and non-governmental humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank, enabling us to achieve a greater impact than we could on our own. Partners provide us with detail on numbers of people reached with emergency life-saving assistance and strong reporting on results achieved. Since 2023 our humanitarian funding has been predictable and flexible, enabling our partners to provide assistance as quickly as possible with as great an impact as possible on the lives of affected people, in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
Given the range of needs, operating constraints, partner capacities, and partner mandates in Gaza and the West bank, the Department seeks to ensure Irelands assistance is delivered across a range of alternative delivery mechanisms, including through UN agencies, including UNWRA, and NGOs.
When allocating grants to these organisations, the Department assesses administrative, overhead costs and value for money, with reference to the context and alternatives available. These assessments are undertaken as part of the Department’s standard process for awarding and managing grants, consistent with its global approach to grant management.
The following table sets out the total amount of funding provided by Ireland to support the people of Palestine from January 2023. We also last week announced an additional €42 million in assistance to the people of Palestine for 2026, including €20 million in core funding for UNRWA, with the balance to be allocated in response to needs throughout the year.
|
Partners |
2023 €000s |
2024 €000s |
2025 €000s |
|
Partners |
2023 €000s |
2024 €000s |
2025 €000s |
|
UNRWA |
18,000 |
20,000 |
20,000 |
|
UN OCHA |
4,945 |
1,075 |
3,141 |
|
ICRC - IFRC |
2,000 |
|
|
|
Food and Agricultural Organisation - DAFM (Emergency Support Gaza) |
|
1,000 |
|
|
UNICEF |
|
|
2,000 |
|
World Food Programme |
2,600 |
|
3,000 |
|
World Health Organisation |
1,000 |
|
1,000 |
|
Norwegian Refugee Council (West Bank Protection Consortium) |
400 |
400 |
400 |
|
COMET-ME |
100 |
100 |
250 |
|
Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation |
|
120 |
|
|
Bilateral Palestinian Authority Services |
3,060 |
3,360 |
3,380 |
|
Humanitarian responders |
19 |
204 |
205 |
|
Peace and Rights |
1,367 |
1,856 |
1,668 |
|
Development Partners and support |
1,377 |
1,436 |
161 |
|
Scholarships |
927 |
1,017 |
946 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total in support of the people of Palestine |
35,795 |
30,568 |
36,151
|
